Suzanne Collins (did I hear someone say Hunger Games?)

I think this is my favorite author...EVER. She finished off a trilogy less than a month ago with the book "Mockingjay." This entire series is fast paced and exciting. I would suggest this series to everybody (boy or girl) because it has so much to offer. I think it is appropriate enough for middle schoolers, but I don't think people are too old to read this book.

So let's start from the beginning. "The Hunger Games" is THE ultimate intro. The reader is plunged into Katniss Everdeen's life and her struggles, how she becomes the person she is. It is often difficult to explain this book because it's so different from other books. Basically, There is a country called Panem made up of 12 districts and a capitol. There used to be 13 districts, but district 13 was destroyed in a rebellion 74 years ago. The capitol "destroyed" 13 and from then on, to keep the districts in line and from rebelling again, they started the Hunger Games. It usually serves as entertainment for the Capitol people, but everyone watches it. 24 tributes, 2 from each district, one boy and one girl, are chosen at random to compete. What is interesting is that the tributes are all children. They have to "fight to the death" until only one remains. That child is crowned victor and just about gets everything they ever need for the rest of their life. So we have Katniss. She goes in the games with a boy named Peeta, the baker's kid, and so much happens I cannot even describe it. The games themselves are simply CRAZY and the reader gets sucked in almost immediately. This book truly demonstrates survival of the fittest.

In Catching Fire, the next Hunger Games will be a "Quarter Quell" where every 25 years, something changes. In the 50th Hunger Games, the number of tributes was doubled. What is interesting for this Quarter Quell is that they are picking the tributes from previous victors of the Hunger Games. Guess what...Katniss is going back into the very Games that cause her nightmares. The major plots in this book involve the mockingjay becoming the symbol for a rebellion. Katniss becomes more familiar with President Snow and his true intentions for her. There is even a little glimpse that the "destroyed" district 13 might actually still be out there. When I read this book, I was really confused until I got to the end where there is like a big explosion of information, the true intentions of the tributes and even future leaders of a rebellion.

"Mockingjay!" This is such a terrific book. The book starts off a month after the 75th Hunger Games where Katniss Everdeen is pulled from the games and taken to district 13 while Peeta is captured by the Capitol and probably tortured. It is revealed that Katniss' home is destroyed as well as a lot of the history of district 13. There are several plots within this book like getting Peeta out of the Capitol and President Snow's grasp as well as Katniss' personal vendetta against Snow. I must warn you readers, there are many deaths. I felt that I wasn't really affected by all the deaths but the book is still very depressing. If my sister hadn't told me what was going to happen I would have cried. Several people that I have spoken to have had mixed feelings about the book as to whether they loved it or hated it, but I guess you'll have to read it yourself and make that opinion.